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BEYOND MISINFORMATION What Science Says About the Destruction of World Trade Center Buildings 1, 2, and 7 BEYOND MISINFORMATION What Science Says About the Destruction of World Trade Center Buildings 1, 2, and 7 © 2015 Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Inc. Review Committee Sarah Chaplin, Architect and Urban Development Consultant, Former Head of School of Architecture and Landscape, Kingston University, London Dr. Mohibullah Durrani, Professor of Engineering and Physics, Montgomery College, Maryland Richard Gage, AIA, Founder and CEO of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth Dr. Robert Korol, Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Ontario Dr. Graeme MacQueen, Retired Professor of Religious Studies and Peace Studies, McMaster University, Ontario Robert McCoy, Architect Dr. Oswald Rendon-Herrero, P.E., Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mississippi State University Author Ted Walter, Director of Strategy and Development, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth Technical Editor Chris Sarns Contributing Writers Craig McKee Chris Sarns Andrew Steele Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth 2342 Shattuck Avenue Suite 189 Berkeley, CA 94704 Introduction ...................................................................................................2 1. Formulating a Hypothesis ........................................................................4 High-Rise Building Fires and Failures .....................................................................4 The Features of Controlled Demolition vs. Fire-Induced Failure ........................................7 What Is the Most Likely Hypothesis? ......................................................................9 2. The Official Investigations ...................................................................... 10 The FEMA Building Performance Study ................................................................. 10 The NIST Investigation .................................................................................... 13 NIST’s Probable Collapse Sequences for WTC 1, WTC 2, and WTC 7 .................................. 14 3. The Destruction of WTC 1 and WTC 2 ................................................... 16 Sudden Onset ............................................................................................. 17 Constant Acceleration through the Path of Greatest Resistance ...................................... 18 Pulverization, Dismemberment, and Explosive Ejection of Materials ................................. 20 Demolition Squibs ........................................................................................ 21 Eyewitness Accounts of Explosions ...................................................................... 22 4. The Destruction of WTC 7 ...................................................................... 24 Sudden and Symmetrical Free Fall ...................................................................... 24 Structural Dismemberment into a Compact Debris Pile ............................................... 27 Eyewitness Accounts of Explosions ...................................................................... 27 Foreknowledge of WTC 7’s Destruction.................................................................. 28 5. High-Temperature Thermitic Reactions ................................................. 30 Molten Metal Pouring out of WTC 2 ...................................................................... 31 Molten Metal in the Debris ............................................................................... 32 Sulfidated Steel in WTC 7 ................................................................................. 33 Iron Spherules and Other Particles in the WTC Dust ................................................... 34 Nano-thermite in the WTC Dust ......................................................................... 35 NIST’s Refusal to Test for Explosives or Thermite Residues ........................................... 36 6. NIST’s Evidence for Fire-Induced Failure ............................................... 38 Hypothetical Blast Scenarios and Thermite Use ........................................................ 39 Estimates of Fireproofing Dislodgement ................................................................ 40 How Hot Did the Steel Become? ......................................................................... 41 NIST’s Computer Modeling ............................................................................... 42 Appendix A: Eyewitness Accounts of Explosions ................................................................ 44 Appendix B: Accounts Indicating Foreknowledge of WTC 7’s Destruction ..................................... 46 Endnotes ........................................................................................................... 47 References ......................................................................................................... 48 Introduction What caused the destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and Building 7 on September 11, 2001? More than a decade later, this question continues to be discussed by many people around the world. According to the official explanation, the World Trade Center Twin Towers (WTC 1 and WTC 2) collapsed What Does Science Say? due to damage from airplane impacts and ensuing The purpose of this booklet is to provide a careful fires, while World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7), a examination of these competing explanations — 47-story skyscraper also in the World Trade Center which we will refer to as “hypotheses” from this complex, collapsed completely and symmetrically point forward — and a comprehensive overview of into its own footprint due to office fires ignited by the available evidence, so that readers can begin debris from the earlier collapse of WTC 1. Though to evaluate which of the two hypotheses is more few people have studied it closely, a majority of the consistent with the evidence. Because this booklet public, including most architects, engineers, and only skims the surface of this subject, readers are 1 scientists, accept the official explanation. strongly encouraged to study the official reports and the papers referenced herein before reaching their Much of the public, however, including a consider- own conclusions. able number of architects, engineers, and scien- 2 3 tists, do not accept the official explanation. Among The position taken in the following chapters is that those who reject it, the most common explanation very little of the evidence can be explained by the is that WTC 1, WTC 2, and WTC 7 were destroyed hypothesis of fire-induced failure and that all of it in a procedure known as “controlled demolition,” can be explained by the hypothesis of controlled whereby carefully placed explosives or other de- demolition. Nonetheless, this booklet will make the vices are detonated to bring down a structure in a best attempt to describe how the authors of the of- desired manner. September 11, 2001, aside, every ficial reports have explained the evidence according total collapse of a steel-framed high-rise building to their hypothesis. In many cases, however, we will in history has been caused by controlled demolition. find that the authors of the official reports denied or ignored the available evidence. According to this second explanation, the demo- lition of WTC 1, WTC 2, and WTC 7 would need to In the end, the goal is to move our collective under- have been prepared before September 11, 2001, by standing of the World Trade Center’s destruction demolition experts who had unrestricted access to beyond misinformation so that we as a society may the buildings. This explanation also implies that the arrive at an accurate account of one of the most demolition was planned in coordination with the important events in our recent history. other attacks of that day. Most importantly, if the goal were to make it appear that the airplanes had caused the destruction of the buildings, it could not be left to chance that airplanes would successfully crash into WTC 1 and WTC 2. This explanation, ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS FOR 9/11 TRUTH ARCHITECTS therefore, contradicts the official account of 9/11. 2 The World Trade Center site in New York City. The former footprints of BEYOND MISINFORMATION BEYOND WTC 1 and WTC 2 are center. The former footprint of WTC 7 is at the bottom left. 3 1 Formulating Before and after photos of World Trade a Hypothesis Center Building 7. This chapter provides a starting point from which to examine the competing hypotheses of fire-induced failure and controlled demolition. First, it will review the history of high-rise building fires and failures. Then it will examine the features that distinguish fire-induced failure and controlled demolition. One principle of the scientific method is especially us establish what should be considered, or should relevant in the early stage of an investigation when have been considered, the most likely hypothesis for data is being gathered and a hypothesis is being the destruction of WTC 1, WTC 2, and WTC 7. formulated. “Unprecedented causes should not, without good reasons, be posited to explain familiar occurrences,” observes David Ray Griffin, a profes- High-Rise Building Fires sor emeritus of Philosophy of Religion and Theology who has written extensively about the philosophy and Failures of science and about the events of September 11, The history of steel-framed high-rise buildings 2001. “[W]e properly